Bitcoin Nears ATH Amid Weak On-Chain Activity & Major Liquidations
Bitcoin’s price has rallied toward its all-time high (~$111,700) but stalled around $103,000, triggering over $160 million in long liquidations on Binance. CryptoQuant data show these liquidations wiped out an overleveraged cluster and pushed Binance’s Net Taker Volume near –$100 million. On-chain metrics reveal daily transactions have fallen from 734,000 to 320,000–500,000, driven by a drop in non-token activity, even as average settlement value remains robust at $3.62 million per transaction. Network fees are at multi-year lows, with miners earning just $558,000 a day. Off-chain trading on centralized exchanges now outpaces on-chain settlement by 7–16×, with daily spot volumes of $10 billion and futures exceeding $570 billion. Open interest in futures and options stands at $96.2 billion, led by stablecoin-collateralized positions. The divergence between price strength, muted on-chain activity and significant liquidations underscores growing institutional influence and may set the stage for healthier price action with reduced leverage.
Neutral
The combined news highlights mixed signals: Bitcoin is near its all-time high but faced significant long liquidations around $103,000 and muted on-chain activity, while off-chain volumes and derivatives open interest remain elevated. In the short term, heavy liquidations and low network participation could restrain sharp rallies, suggesting consolidation. Over the longer term, robust off-chain trading and institutional involvement point to sustained interest and potential for healthier price action with reduced leverage. Overall, the balanced factors support a neutral stance on immediate price direction.